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Bible Question:
I have recently become interested in Daniel 9 and the 70 weeks.
I have read that the general consensus is that the decree
referred to is Artaxerxes' decree to Nehemiah. Now I have
been given a book which states that the decree must have
been the first one issued by Cyrus, because Isaiah 45:1 states
that the Lord would tell Cyrus to rebuild the Temple AND
Jerusalem. Now, this date does not result in a good correspondence
with Jesus' ministry or death (536 BC + 483 or 490 years).
The author of this book (Jerusalem: Peace or Desolation by
Peter Cohen, a South African, references a book called "The
Wonders of Bible Chronology" by Philip Mauro and says
that we actually have no reliable chronology to know the
date when Cyrus would have issued the decree. Peter Cohen
says "There is the traditional Jewish chronology which
counts the years from the creation of man. There is also
the chronology constructed by Ptolomy which is generally
accepted by secular historians. However, as Mauro points
out, not only does it lack corroboration from other sources,
but it is contradicted by Josephus..., by the Persian traditions
preserved by Fidusi, and by the Jewish traditions preserved
by the Seder Olam. But most importantly the canon of Ptolomy
is in conflict with the chronology of the Old Testament.
He goes on to say that apart from the writings of Ptolomy,
there would be no secular chronology worthy of any consideration
prior to Alexander the Great..." He goes on a bit more
and explains how a biblical chronology has discrepancies
of 60 to 80 years with secular dates, but he basically states
that Jesus died in the middle of the 490th year; but
unfortunately we do not know the exact date from which to
compute the number of years. People probably had better
chronologies back then. The Rabbis even expected a Messiah to
come around then and at the end of the first century
were moaning that he was meant to come but didn't and all. We
take it on faith that Cyrus gave the decree at the time that
would make chronological sense. Do you know about this?
Do you agree? There are many different viewpoints, some arguing
that the 70th week is just before Jesus comes back, some
saying that Jesus died in the middle of the seventieth week
(this book proposes that viewpoint, and defends it from scripture)
but this is the first book I have seen that states that we
should compute the date from Cyrus' decree and that people
can't know when the decree was issued. Please could you enlighten
me on this! I am really trying to consolidate this in my
mind!
Bible Answer:
Mr. Philip Mauro's booklet was written almost 50 to 100 years
ago. Our current information is much better.
Temple or Jerusalem?
There are five key passages in the Old Testament that predict
the rebuilding of Jerusalem or the temple, but Isaiah 45:1
is not one of them. Isaiah 45:1 does not refer to either Jerusalem
or the temple. It is possible that Isaiah 44:28 is the passage
he wanted to reference.
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It is I who says of Cyrus, "He is My shepherd! And he
will perform all My desire.’ And he declares
of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ and
of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.” (NASB)
Isa. 44:28
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It is important to read this passage carefully. Please note
that this passage does not say that Cyrus will issue any
decree. God only says that Cyrus is His shepherd, the city
will be built, and the foundations of the temple will be
laid. When we read scripture it is important to be exact.
Why? Because 2 Chronicles tells us that Cyrus issued a decree
to rebuild the temple. No comment is made about rebuilding
the city.
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Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia - in order
to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah
- the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia,
so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom,
and also put it in writing, saying, “Thus says
Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven,
has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He
has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem,
which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all
His people, may the LORD his God be with him, and let
him go up!’” (NASB) 2 Chronicles 36:22-23
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